Magnetic pickup device



y 4, 1954 E. .1. BODEY 2,677,461

MAGNETIC PICKUP DEVICE Filed May 13, 1953 INVENTOR. EDWARD J. BODEY BYATTORNE Patented May 4, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

lhis invention relates to a magnetic pick-up for vacuum cleaners and thelike.

An object of the invention is to provide an attachment for the nozzle ofa standard vacuum cleaner, said attachment including magnetic means forcollecting magnetizable objects, thereby precluding their entry into thevacuum cleaner nozzle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a magnetic pick-up whichmay comprise part of a vacuum cleaner nozzle, or it may comprise anattachment for a standard nozzle, or it may comprise a hand tool whichmay be propelled across a floor by means of a suitable handle, in amanner in which a mop is used.

One of the primary objects of the invention is to provide a magneticpick-up device having the hereinabove described characteristics, whereinthe magnetic field is produced by a plurality of permanent magnetsmounted in laterally spaced relationship along a common axis, andwherein the north and south poles of each of said individual magnets aredisposed in intersecting alignment with a common axis extending throughall of said magnets, whereby elongated magnetizable objects will beautomatically turned so that their longitudinal axis will be disposed inaxial alignment with the common axis extending through the magnets.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a magnetic pick-uphaving associated therewith a trap into which the magnetizable itemsattracted by the said magnets will ultimately be lodged.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device having thehereinabove described characteristics which is free of moving parts,inexpensive and durable.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein andas disclosed in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional View through the nozzle of a typical householdtype vacuum cleaner, said nozzle having associated therewith a magneticpick-up embodying the teachings of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of a portion of the magnetic pick-up ofFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a permanent magnet embodying preferredstructural details.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the magnet of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a side plan view of the magnet of Fig. 3.

With reference now to Fig. 1, the numeral l0 denotes a housing ofnon-magnetic material such as, by way of example, plastic, aluminum orthe like, the lower face of which is provided with an elongate recess orconcave channelway 12 extending longitudinally of the housing.Preferably, the concave portion is located between a fiat lower forwardedge I l and a flat rearward lower edge it.

Suitable means, such as a clip l8, may be secured to and carried by rearWall 20 of the housing for enabling the device to be securely thoughreleasably mounted to the forward wall 22 of nozale 2 5 of a typicalhousehold type vacuum cleaner.

A plurality of permanent magnets 30 are mounted in laterally spacedrelationship along a common axis extending longitudinally of concaveportion 12. As best illustrated in Figs. 2 and i, each of said magnetspreferably comprises a substantially cylindrical member having a pair oflaterall spaced magnetic elements 3| and 35, of opposed polarity,depending from a circular top leg 33, note Fig. 4. The magnetic elementscomprise a north and a south pole which are separated by means of a plug32 of non-magnetic material such as, by Way of example, wood, plastic,or any suitable non-metallic metal, for precluding the entry of dirt, orof magnetizable items between the respective north and south poles ofthe magnet. Preferably the dimensional characteristics of the plug aresuch as to complet the right cylindrical contour of the magnet.

With particular reference to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the laterallyspaced magnetic elements or north and south poles of adjacent magnetsare of alternating polarity whereby an elongate magnetizable element,such as a pin, needle or the like, will be positively and automaticallyturned for disposing its lon itudinal axis in parallelism with thecommon axis passing through the poles of the magnets and in parallelismwith the longitudinal axis of the concave portion l2. In this manner Ihave provided simple yet highly effective means for automaticallyaligning elongate magnetizable objects in such a manner that they willbe received sidewise within and aligned relative to the axis of theconcave portion [2.

With reference now to Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral 40 denotes an elongatemember or shoe which is disposed along and projecting forwardly of thelower rear edge It of housing] 0, said member including an arcuate lowerbearing surface 42 which is adapted to slide across a supporting surfaceit incident to movement of nozzle 24 thereover. The member likewiseincludes a substantially flat upper surface 45 a substantial portion ofwhich projects forwardly of the rear edge of the concave portion 12 forproviding an elongated ledge which defines a tray 48 lengthwise of therear portion of the concave portion E2 of the housing and beneath andspaced from the rearward portions of the magnetic elements or north andsouth poles.

The function of the elongated trap 48 is to provide an area into whichthe magnetizable objects, having been initially picked up by ma nets 38,may be deposited and stored, as it were, against accidental orunintentional removal incident to the forward and rearward motion ofnozzle 24 over supporting surface 44.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the lowermost portion ofshoe [6 is disposed in substantial horizontal alignment with the loweredges 55 and E2 of the front and rear walls 22 and 53, respectively, ofthe cleaner nozzle 24. The forward edge It of the housin is preferablyspaced above the lowermost surface of the shoe by a dimensionapproximating th of an inch or more, for thereby enabling items restingon surface to freely pass under front edge I i. The numeral 5 denotes awheel, or other supporting element, the purpose of which is to determinethe spacing of the lower edges of nozzf 2a. from supporting surface 44.

If desired, a suitable rubber bumper 56 may be secured to the forwardedge of housing it,

In operation magnetizable objects will be effectively removed fromsupporting surface 4 5 before that area of the supporting surface hasbeen subjected to the suction of nozzle 24. In the absence of shoe Alland trap 48, objects initially picked up by the magnets 30 will bedislodged from the arcuate channelway incident to movement of the nozzleforwardly and rearwardly over supporting surface 44, particularly inthose instances wherein surface 44 denotes the upper edge of a carpethaving a deep pile. Magnetizable items attracted by the magnets areautomatically disposed within trap 48 where they will remain againstaccidental or unintentional displacement until removed by means of adeliberate action on the part of the operator. It will be understoodthat any material housed within trap 48 may be removed by means of abrushing or wiping action.

As earlier indicated, the magnetic pick-up may, if desired, befabricated as an integral part of the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner, or thedevice may be fabricated as an attachment for a vacuum cleaner nozzle,it being understood that the structural and functional characteristicsof the device will be the same in either instance.

It should be understood that various changes may be made in thestructural details of the device within the scope of the appended claimswithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A magnetic pick-up device comprising an elongate housing ofnon-magnetic material, said housing including a lower surface having alongitudinal recess therein, a plurality of permanent .iagnets securedto and carried by the housing for providing a plurality of laterallyspaced magnetic elements of alternating polarity located. within andalong the length of the recess, and a longitudinal ledge projectingforwardly of the rear edge of the recess extending beneath and spacedfrom the rearward portions of said magnetic elements.

2. A magnetic pick-up device comprising an elongate housing ofnon-magnetic material the lower surface of which is provided with alongitudinal concave channelway, a plurality of permanent magnetssecured to and carried by the housing for providing a plurality oflaterally spaced magnetic elements of alternating polarity locatedwithin and along the length of the channelway, an elongate memberprojecting forward- 151 of the rear edge of said channelway extendingbeneath and spaced from the rearward portions of the magnetic elementsfor defining a continuous longitudinal ledge.

3. A magnetic pick-up device as set forth in claim wherein the elongatemember includes a substantially fiat upper surface disposed adjacent thesaid channelway and a rounded lower surface, and wherein the said lowersurface is disposed below and in spaced parallelism with the forwardedge of the channelway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,561,077 Hirsch Nov. 10, 1925 2,288,115 Soldanels June 30,1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 176,590 Switzerland Apr. 30',1935

